kingnovel Chapter 902 We must not wrong an innocent person, nor let a guilty person go unpunished.
Chapter 902 We must not wrong an innocent person, nor let a guilty person go unpunished.
Zhu Biao and Li Shanchang found the idea of Yang Shaofeng having a shrine erected in his honor merely amusing, and also wanted to watch the spectacle.
Hu Weiyong, on the other hand, wished he could build a separate shrine for the officials and gentry of Jiangnan.
What a kind person!
What are people who are eager to send their entire extended family to Liaodong to do hard labor if not kind-hearted people?
From this day forward, if anyone says that those philanthropists in Jiangnan who collude with officials and gentry are villains, I will be the first to object!
Given the nature of the officials and gentry in Jiangnan, they would never propose building a shrine to the living, much less bear the cost of building it themselves.
Even if it's just to spread the risk and drag more people down with them, thus achieving the effect of "the law does not punish the masses," they will inevitably pull in more people.
Therefore, officials and gentry in Jiangnan not only sent their own extended family to Liaodong to do hard labor, but they would also bring along other people's extended family.
What a kind and generous person!
I wonder how many shrines have been built in Jiangnan?
If we calculate that one shrine to a living person involves one hundred people, then one hundred shrines to a living person could involve ten thousand people.
If we calculate based on ten people per household, that makes a total of one thousand households.
That should be enough to solve about a thousand blisters.
Most importantly, with these thousand households, a thousand large livestock such as cattle, horses, and mules could be mobilized.
Tsk.
It has to be this old man, because he's kind-hearted.
Just as Hu Wei was pondering this, Yang Shaofeng, with a gloomy expression, instructed Chang Xiaojiu: "Send someone to Jiangnan to find out who is behind this mess of the shrine and who contributed money and effort to its construction."
"Forget about those penniless fools who got scammed, but for those with any assets, find evidence of their illegal activities and send them to Liaodong."
"If you can send gifts to nine generations of your family, send gifts to nine generations of your family; if you can send gifts to three generations of your family, send gifts to three generations of your family."
"We cannot wrong an innocent person, but we also cannot let a guilty person go free."
Upon hearing this, Hu Weiyong knew exactly what was going on.
This time it's safe.
The officials and gentry of Jiangnan had thoroughly angered Yang the Madman.
If he had said, "We cannot let a bad person go free, nor can we wrong an innocent person," the officials and gentry of Jiangnan would have had a way out.
Now?
Aside from treason and disrespect, if the Embroidered Uniform Guard didn't pin charges of treason, rebellion, heinous crimes, immorality, filial impiety, discord, injustice, or internal strife on them, it would be a miracle if their ancestors' graves were emitting auspicious smoke!
Yang Shaofeng continued, "Furthermore, let it be my will that all the shrines be demolished, and the materials from the demolished shrines be purchased by the Prince Consort's Mansion in the name of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices."
“Return all the money to those penniless people.”
"The remaining money and materials will be used to build a community school in the name of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices."
"If there is any money left over, use it to subsidize the school's writing materials."
"If that's not enough, send someone to ask His Highness the Crown Prince for more money."
As soon as Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Hu Weiyong immediately smiled and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, once these officials and their relatives arrive in Liaodong, I will make sure they are treated well and will not be mistreated."
Li Shanchang clicked his tongue and stroked his beard, saying, "This is what they mean by Zhou Yu's brilliant plan to secure the world, but he ended up losing both his wife and his army."
The tactic of using shrines to praise and then kill is indeed quite clever.
However, it also depends on who is being praised to the point of harm.
The officials and gentry in Jiangnan were foolish in that they used the right methods but chose the wrong targets.
Whenever they use the tactic of praising someone to death in a shrine to them, the chosen target is likely to suffer.
But how could we use the method of praising someone to death in a shrine to deal with Yang the madman?
Yang Dianfeng was not only the husband of Princess Funing and Princess Fuyang, but also the Duke of Ying of the Ming Dynasty. He firmly controlled the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and most importantly, he had his elder sister protecting him. He could not rely on methods like the shrine to the dead.
Tsk tsk.
Li Shanchang wished he could summon all the officials and gentry of Jiangnan to his side and show them the right path.
"We must devise a method that can generate more revenue for the national treasury than the border markets."
"To develop something even better for the country and its people than water presses and high-yield grain varieties."
"To create a school that is even better than the University of Denver."
"To seize back a silver or gold mine that is even larger than the Iwami Ginzan."
"Then kill all the tens of thousands of people in Ningyang County."
"Killing Yang the Madman will be a piece of cake then."
If you can't do the above, killing Yang the Madman will be as difficult as climbing to heaven.
Of course, even if you can do the above, you must still meet two prerequisites.
First, the age must be similar to that of His Highness the Crown Prince, or even a few years older, but not too much or too little older.
If someone is much older than His Highness the Crown Prince, it will make the ruler worry that after his death, the Crown Prince will be sidelined.
If someone is too much younger than His Highness the Crown Prince, it will cause the ruler to worry that His Highness the Crown Prince will eventually pass away, leaving the Crown Prince powerless.
The second prerequisite is to marry a princess and become a relative of the wife's family, and this princess must be the eldest sister's biological daughter.
To put it bluntly, although Princess Funing and Princess Fuyang were not the eldest sister's biological children, they were raised from childhood and were no different from her own. Even His Highness the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, and the Fifth Prince had all been under their care and had to respectfully call them "elder sister."
If it were a daughter born to another concubine, His Highness the Crown Prince would at most recognize her as a sister, but whether he would recognize her as a brother-in-law is another matter.
It's even less likely that he'd be calling him "brother-in-law" like he does now.
Thinking of this, Li Shanchang couldn't help but shake his head again.
Forget it, it seems like none of these conditions are as difficult as climbing to the sky.
Rather than hoping to meet all the above conditions before killing Yang Dianfeng, it would be more reliable to hope that God will strike Yang Dianfeng dead with lightning.
You can also make a voodoo doll.
There was a possibility that the Embroidered Uniform Guard would find something to use against them, and then throw them to Liaodong to do hard labor.
Just as Li Shanchang was pondering this in his mind, Zhu Biao stared at Yang Shaofeng with a dark expression.
"Ask the Imperial Household Department for money?"
"Although I am the Crown Prince, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices is so poor that it's practically bankrupt. Where would we get so much money to establish community schools?"
"Don't think I don't know, brother-in-law, you're just planning to take this opportunity to build more schools and, incidentally, swindle money from me."
Ok?
Li Shanchang immediately perked up his ears.
So poor they're practically bankrupt?
The Imperial Household Department was just as poor as the people of Ningyang County.
It is common knowledge that being extremely poor often means being incredibly rich.
No.
Just for the sake of the phrase "poor as hell," I, this old man, must find a way to squeeze some money out of the Imperial Household Department to subsidize the national treasury.
Yang Shaofeng simply smiled dismissively at Zhu Biao's act of feigning poverty.
Did the black sesame glutinous rice ball see through your disguise?
But it doesn't matter, let them see through it.
Anyway, he'll have to accept it even if he has to hold his nose.
“If Your Highness is unwilling to let the Court of Imperial Sacrifices pay, you can find a way to get the money from the Imperial Treasury.”
"In any case, the task of building schools and academies will either fall to His Majesty or His Highness."
Zhu Biao wished he could slap himself.
You're so cheeky!
Why did you have to say something like "it's just a matter of a few shrines"?
Now look what's happened! The officials and gentry of Jiangnan have fallen, and my own Chamberlain's Office has also fallen!
Zhu Biao grew angrier the more he thought about it, and couldn't help but snort, "Fine, I admit defeat this time. The Court of Imperial Sacrifices will cover the cost of funding the community school."
"but……"